Iraq said on Wednesday it believed Turkey was unlikely to extend a military operation against Kurdish fighters in northern Iraq but slammed Ankara for what it branded an attack on its sovereignty. Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh called on Turkey to end the military action and use dialogue to solve the rebel issue.

"We feel this issue will not be solved militarily. Any such action is an attack on Iraq's sovereignty," he told AFP. Some 500 Turkish troops crossed into northern Iraq on Tuesday targeting Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) members based in the mountainous terrain along the border with Turkey.

"We believe Turkey is not going to extend the operation. It is a limited operation," Dabbagh said.

Lawmaker Mahmud Othman, a Kurd, said on Wednesday that the Turkish troops had fully withdrawn. "They came for a specific operation but were unsuccessful. This is the information I have from local people there. There were casualties on both the sides," he told AFP.